16 Times Sherlock Drove Us All Crazy
By Lacy Baugher
Martin Freeman as John Watson in “Sherlock”. (Photo: BBC)
When John Didn’t Look at that Flash Drive
One of the big and shocking twists in Sherlock Season 3 was the revelation that John’s new wife Mary had a dark past. Not just a few secrets here and there, though. She had a whole different life. “Mary Morstan” wasn’t even her real name. (She basically stole it by identity theft-ing a stillborn child.) Mary, as it turns out, is a former CIA agent and assassin who has apparently done some pretty dreadful things. Look at it this way: Even villain Charles Augustus Magnussen thinks she’s a bad person, and he’s complete trash. (He also has no reason to lie about her.)
Anyway, after John finds out about all this, he’s understandably upset. In an attempt to make amends, Mary offers him a flash drive full of information about her previous life and past. And John, despite the fact that he’s been angry enough about all this lying to stop speaking to his wife for weeks? Doesn’t read it. He just throws it into the fireplace and destroys it as some kind of grand romantic gesture. Why? Who does this?
It’s one thing for John to choose to forgive Mary. (You can argue that decision is a stupid one, but at least it’s understandable.) But John actively deciding to just not know what he’s choosing when he decides to build a life with Mary? It feels wildly out of character. Not to mention that it’s also … a little bit gross. Not that Mary really deserves that much sympathy after the things she did in the Season 3 finale, but John’s basically saying that he has no interest in knowing her, as herself. He’d actually rather be with the completely made up version of this woman, a person entirely comprised of the lies she’s told him and the traits he’s convinced himself are real. How sad is that? He doesn’t even know her real name!
Number of eyerolls: 6